November 14 - Mahón, Menorca

Today we’re docked just below the town of Mahón on the island of Menorca.  I was just here twice on my spring cruise. During my previous days here I had taken a long tour of the island and then walked around in the town.  Today I made it up in time for breakfast and then headed ashore for a little walkabout.

You can see how Mahón is perched up above the port in this and the next shot

The town lies on a cliff above the pier area and there’s an elevator to take you up to the top.  It’s that or a whole bunch of steps so you know what I opt for.  It’s a cute little town with narrow streets, most of which are pedestrian only. This place has something I like very much – there are lots of benches placed along the streets where I can just sit and people-watch.  When I came in the spring it was much livelier because the season was just beginning.  We’re at the end now and so many stores and cafés are closed. I wandered for a little while and then on a whim as I passed a peluqueria (Beauty shop) I decided to go in and get a pixie cut haircut.  They were able to take me right away and I thought the lady did a grand job.  It was looking like it might rain so I decided it was time to go back to the ship.

I liked this little side alleyway. Those are shoes dangling from those strings.  I don't know if was an artistic thing or somebody airing his shoes out.

One of a number of statues around the streets

I ‘ve written back in the spring about some of the history of this place so I won’t repeat it here.  Suffice it to say that as with most of the other islands in the Mediterranean, Menorca has been invaded and occupied by many civilizations.  The Spanish are the current owners. Speaking of Spanish, there are quite a few crew members who are from Spanish-speaking countries and I have been trying to speak that language with them.  It has been amazing to me how much of my Spanish is coming back to me.  A long time ago I used to be fluent but as they say, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.”  I’m happy to report that it’s still in the recesses of my brain and it’s coming back.

You may have noticed that I skipped a port, Alghero, Sardinia.  The Encore did go there, but I called a sea day because I was tired.  There was a long tender ride to get on land and I’d been to Sardinia before, so I took a day off.  Friends who went in said it was a pretty typical little town with lots of very rough cobblestone streets.  I don’t do well on those so perhaps it was a good thing I didn’t go ashore.

This is what I saw of Alghero.

We have trivia every afternoon and we’re holding our own in this cumulative round.  I’ve been getting invitations to a hosted table every day and I’ve accepted perhaps half the time.  Other days I’ve dined with friends and we’ve been pretty spontaneous about where we eat.  We had a delightful Lithuanian violist perform one night.  I truly enjoyed her concert. We had a West End singer another night and I thought she was a little brassy.  And aside from that life goes on here.